By Mary Pierce
A few days before Memorial Day weekend, Glenwood High School students turned out to assist Glenwood Women’s Club president Carla Dillenburg and club member Becky Branson to place flags on all the veterans’ graves and at the Veterans’ Memorial in our beautiful Mt. Adams Cemetery. I don’t have a list of all the names as I write this, but I hope they know how very grateful we are that they willingly come out to provide this great service to our community and the veterans we’ve said goodbye to over the decades. Also helping that day were Kevin Branson and Mike Dillenburg.
Our cemetery is serene and so beautifully maintained. And, just across the road from the cemetery, local residents there placed a vintage truck and tractor and put up a flagpole where they proudly display the stars and stripes with majestic Mt. Adams in the background. It perfectly fits our small, rural community. and not only honors the veterans in our cemetery, it brings a great sense of patriotic pride to all of us who live here.
One very special occasion over the holiday weekend was the large gathering of family and friends at the Miller home to celebrate the 100th birthday of Chris’s dad, Bill Correll. Bill has been a great addition to our community over the last several years, attending community functions and soccer games of his great-grandchildren. Bill came with Chris to pick cherries from our trees a few years ago and I was amazed at how well he did out there. A person wouldn’t have guessed he was approaching the century mark. Happy 100th, Bill. We are proud to have you as an honored member of our community.
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When I see a “Breaking News” announcement coming on the new ticker at the bottom of the screen, it grabs my attention so I stop to listen. Too often, the “breaking news” is something that’s already been reported for the last few days and just wants to reel us in. But now I have breaking news that I am so pleased to share. Four members of the 2026 Klickwood (Glenwood/Klickitat) high school track and field team are headed to the Oregon State High School Track and Field championships in Eugene, OR. For our little schools, this is an outstanding achievement.
During the Big Sky 1A District tournament in Maupin, Talon Cabral (Glenwood HS) was first to qualify with his high jump height of 5 ft. 8 in. Another Glenwood HS team member, Wyatt Patterson, placed 2nd in the javelin with an outstanding last chance that sailed far, far beyond his previous throws to stun the crowd and send him on to State. The second day of the meet,
Ciaran McCabe (Klickitat HS) sailed to placed 2nd in the 800m, and our one Glenwood HS senior, Giana Jackson, qualified in both the long jump and 200m. For tiny schools and a small number of athletes on the combined team, Klickwood showed they are as competitive as some of the bigger schools in the league.
We are all proud of the hard work and success they’ve had this season. While other team members did not qualify for State, they all had great years, achieving one personal record after another, working hard to improve their times or their distances. Hold you head high, kids. You had a great season. A huge thanks goes to coaches Aaron Oldenburg and Abbie Eldred for the time and effort they put in to coaching the team through a great season. And I want to give a shout out to all the parents and grandparents who traveled to the meets, being there for the Klickwood team. It always feels good to know you have strong support in the stands cheering you on. We wish Talon, Wyatt, Ciaran, and Giana all the best in Eugene next week. Go, Klickwood! I’ll share results in the next column.
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As if one breaking news story wasn’t enough for our little community, I just received even more great news from Joslyn Arnold. I’ll share it here in her own words. Let’s help her all we can to finance her second trip to the College National Finals Rodeo in her two years on the Walla Walla Community College rodeo team. From Joslyn:
“Beyond blessed and excited to announce that I have officially qualified for my 2ad CNFR representing Walla Walla Community College, my family, and my amazing community!
The CNFR will take place in Casper from June 14-20, 2026, and I truly could not be more grateful for this opportunity to compete again in breakaway roping and goat tying. Looking back on this journey, it has taken so much hard work, dedication, support, and belief from the people around me to get here. I am especially grateful for have my boys, Taco and Tommy, alongside me for this adventure. They are truly the best boys, and I couldn’t do this without them!
A huge THANK YOU to everyone who has already participated in and supported my raffle fundraiser, your support means more than you know! There is still time to enter and help support my journey to CNFR.
*Tickets are $10 each
*Buy 5 tickets and receive 1 FREE ticket!
1st Place: 50/50 Cash Prize
2nd Place: Buckin’ Palomino Basket
The drawing will take place on Friday, June 5th!
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Thank you all for supporting me, my horses, and this incredible opportunity to represent my school and community once again. Casper, here we come!
At the Glenwood School Board meeting last week, the board officially approved the hiring of Dr. Jerry Lewis as superintendent and Beverly Scott as principal. Jerry stepped in when our school urgently needed strong guidance and leadership, as did acting principal Paul Demchuk. Bev will begin work as our principal on July 1st. and Jerry will transition from interim status to permanent. Members of our staff had the opportunity to meet with Bev a few weeks ago. Now I’m eager for all our students to meet her and get to know her.
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As we head into June, our next exciting big event is the 93rd annual Ketchum Kalf Rodeo on Father’s Day weekend. It’s always a great time and will be a good chance to treat your dads to a special event. I do need to clarify something that I may have mentioned in the last Glenwood news. Both areas of the rodeo grounds where the band will be playing on Friday and Saturday evenings are off limits to anyone under the age of 21. One of our all-time rodeo favorites, Countryside Ride will be providing the music again, so it’s bound to be very enjoyable both nights. The entire rodeo weekend will be a great time for everyone of all ages. This year, in addition to cash for admission, the gates will also accept cards for payment. Many come without the cash and have to turn around and drive to the General Store to use the ATM there.
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And finally, here’s a heads up for an upcoming special time for the kids. I received the following from Jennifer Hallenbeck. Rainforest Falls Vacation Bible School will be June 22-26 at Glenwood Pioneer Memorial Community Church. This is a free program for kids ages 4 years old through entering 6th grade. The fun begins at 9:00 and will end at 12:00. Kids will explore the nature of God through interactive Bible stories, fun music, exciting science experiments, and energizing games. Registration forms are available at the post office and at the church. Call Jennifer at 509-364-3517 if you have any questions.
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Mary Pierce writes about the community of Glenwood every other week in Columbia Gorge News. Please send any news items to gmpierce09@gmail.com.
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